Staff

Led by Jaime Williams and Lauren Bowman, who represent the fourth generation of the Bowman Family in the Virginia apple industry, Turkey Knob’s staff is comprised of competent professionals with extensive experience in the agricultural industry. The Turkey Knob team prides itself on delivering excellent service and high quality fruit to its customers.

Jaime Williams

President

Jaime was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, and graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. Jaime has directed Turkey Knob’s packinghouse operations since 1998. He became president of Turkey Knob in 2002 and assumed direction for both the orchards and packing facility. He currently oversees all aspects for the growing, packing, sales and marketing operations. Jaime serves on the board of directors for the U.S. Apple Association.

Lauren Bowman

Vice President

Lauren represents the fourth generation of the Bowman Family in the Virginia apple industry. Her father, Gordon “Sonny” Bowman II, was president and chairman of Bowman Apple Products and oversaw the creation of Turkey Knob Growers and the modernization of the packing facility. Lauren is a graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and has handled risk management and corporate insurance duties for both Bowman Apple Products and Turkey Knob since 1991. She joined Turkey Knob Growers full time in 2011.

Michelle Gabb

E-commerce Manager

Born and raised in South Africa, Michelle has been a valuable member of the Turkey Knob team since 2001. She is a graduate of the Chartered Institute of Business Management and speaks English, German, Afrikaans and Zulu. Growing up on a cattle and corn ranch, Michelle developed a passion for farming at an early age. In South Africa she was the financial manager for Glen Apples – a grower/packer/shipper concern. At Turkey Knob, she manages the consumer-direct gift box and Apple-of-the-Month programs, oversees the company website and online store, assists with export documentation and handles assorted administrative affairs.

LuAnn Rowling

Farm Market Manager

A native of Ohio, LuAnn grew up working on her family’s orchard, helping her parents manage their on-farm retail market. Since moving to the Shenandoah Valley in 1992, she has continued to work in the fresh fruit business. For the past 15 years with Turkey Knob, her duties have involved directing the company’s local fruit stands and handling accounting tasks in the finance department. This has included managing Turkey Knob’s seasonal peach, nectarine, cherry and berry harvests and sales.

Bill Leap

Controller

Bill is a native of the Shenandoah Valley and a graduate of Eastern Mennonite University with a Bachelor of Science in accounting. He began working for Bowman Apple Products in 1989. He moved over to Turkey Knob as the company’s controller and finance manager in 2012. Bill is responsible for overseeing Turkey Knob’s financial affairs, including capital investments, performance benchmarks and annual audits and reporting.

Erik Jakobsen

Packing House Manager

Erik grew up in Pennsylvania and moved to the Shenandoah Valley in 2011. He has been a line technician at Turkey Knob since 2011. Prior to working at Turkey Knob, Erik attended Virginia Tech and also worked for Penske Racing as a carbon fiber fabricator. This year Erik has taken over the responsibility of overseeing the packing house.

Mike Bergan

Maintenance Manager

Mike grew up in Ridgeway, Iowa, and attended Iowa State University. He earned a Bachelor of Science in agricultural studies and farm operations with a minor in agronomy and agricultural mechanization. He joined the Turkey Knob team in August 2007. He primarily focuses on maintaining the packing line, integrating new equipment and monitoring the cold storage facilities. Mike also helps as a mechanic for the orchards and builds specialty equipment used in the orchards.

Dawson Williams

Director of Sales & Logistics

Dawson hails from Davis, California. He holds an MBA from HEC Paris and a master’s degree in international affairs and economics Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Relations. Prior to joining Turkey Knob in 2014, he worked as Turkey Knob’s export sales agent and managed the company’s credit insurance policy. His current duties include domestic and international sales, business development, marketing, logistics and freight negotiations and managing Turkey Knob’s marine and credit insurance policies.

Maeghan Hart

Administration

Maeghan joined Turkey Knob in 2015. She provides support to the accounting department and handles accounts payable and receivable. Maeghan also assists with gift box fulfillment and other administrative and marketing duties for Turkey Knob. She grew up in the Shenandoah Valley and loves the fruit industry.

Frances Reyes

Shipping Manager

Frances has worked for Turkey Knob for the past 18 years in a variety of capacities including managing the packing line, facilitating inventory management and supervising seasonal packing house staff. Frances is fluent in English and Spanish. This season she will take over managing the loading dock and staging outbound shipments.

Eduardo Torres

Packing Line Supervisor

Eduardo joined Turkey Knob in 2011 and initially assisted with packing house operations. In 2015, he became the packing line supervisor. He is responsible for the day-to-day packing operations and order fulfillment. He is fluent in English and Spanish and supervises Turkey Knob’s packing line staff.

Ann Jones

Food and Employee Safety Manager

Ann was born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Bridgewater College. She began working in food safety and quality for Rocco after college and worked in poultry and meat for over 10 years. During this period, she worked for Cargill in Research and Development for 3 years. Ann started working as QA Director for Bowman Apple Products in 2005 and was responsible for processed apple products and beverages. She stayed on at the Mount Jackson location through the Andros purchase in 2011 until August 2017, where her responsibilities included managing quality, food safety research and development. Ann joined Turkey Knob Growers in September 2017.

About

Located in the heart of the lush Shenandoah Valley, Turkey Knob Growers prides itself on growing and packing high quality, delicious apples.

The Valley’s fertile soil and excellent mineral balance produce fruit rich in flavor. Our apples are available for purchase through our online store and farm stands.

We also grow peaches, nectarines and cherries for sale in the late spring and summer at our farm stands, local farmers’ markets and local retailers. Turkey Knob sells its apples throughout the United States and internationally through wholesalers, distributors and retail chains.